Modified Custom Case

This content was originally featured on Amdmb.com and has been converted to PC Perspective’s website. Some color changes and flaws may appear.

Case – Modified Lian Li PC-70 Full Tower Case – $500
Chances are, some of you have seen pictures of this case already in the Cases and Cooling forum at AMDForums.com. Our friends at DesignComp helped me design a case that was the ultimate is design and functionality, and it was the same great DesignComp that built it and sent it to me.

First, because I know I will get flame mail because of it – the reason I didn’t modify my case myself is because, well, I suck at it. And, why NOT have someone else do it for you? If there is a problem, that makes them responsible, not you! And, as I have seen the quality that DesignComp has done before, I knew that I would be more than happy with what Andrew and his crew could do for me.

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The case itself is a Lian Li PC-70 full-tower server case made of all aluminum. That, of course, makes it very, very light. In fact, when I got the case from FedEx, I thought it was empty when I brought the box inside! 🙂 The quality and construction of these cases from Lian Li make them prime candidates for modifications such as fans, blowholes and windows. The strength of the aluminum is superb, yet is able to cut easily enough to avoid cuts, scrapes and fringes on the metal.

Let’s first take a look at the cooling system that is in place. Doing the math, and including the power supply fan, there are a total of ten (10) fans for airflow is this bad-ass case. Two in the front for intake, two on the side panel for intake, one in the top for exhaust and five more on the back for exhaust. Again, DesignComp is responsible for cutting all the whole and installing all the Panaflow fans for me.

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With this much active cooling, it was necessary and suggested that I use a Digital Doc 5 controller in the system as well. As I am not one to argue with the advice of the specialists, and I happen to have one my good friend Bob Dyl sent my way, I went ahead and installed it. If you don’t already know, the Digital Doc allows for control and monitoring of up to 8 fans, all using 3 pin connectors. You can lower the fans speeds, thus lowering noise when the system is idle or just not working very hard. For a full look at the Digital Doc 5, check out Bob’s review of it.

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The next thing you have no doubt noticed is the window that etching that DesignComp did to the case. The window is a green tinted plexiglass that is incredibly strong and will simply not break under any normal kind of use and even a bit of pressure. It also scratch resistant which is good as you will surely want this thing to sit on top of your desk to show off. The etching was done very well, and it is basically a very accurate, machine guided, scratch-on of a bit of white-colored plastic material. This creates a permanent and aesthetically pleasing design.

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As final touch, DesignComp installed a Cold Cathode Tube light. I chose the neon green color to accentuate the green window and logo. Besides, the site is green and AMD is green, so why not? As I am sure you can tell, I am very impressed by the quality of the case and the quality of the work that was done to it. If you’d like to see more examples of DesignComps work, check out their website!

As I am sure you can tell, this custom case from DesignComp is both used for aesthetic purposes and practical ones. The fans create a very good cooling solution for the case and the window and light make sure that the case stands out! Thanks goes out again to Andrew at DesignComp for hooking us up with this!

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And, if you would like your own custom designed case, visit DesignComp and email them for a quote!

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